Yes, Nintendo did have a few Classic Controller Pros in their E3 display cabinets, but without any firm release date or announcements of an intention to bring them to the West we just assumed they were on show to make us salivate even more over the lovely new pads. Even though the Big N's lips are still zipped, Koei recently sent out a fact sheet for their upcoming Samurai Warriors 3 for Wii, and it contained more than one mention of the prodigal pad.

Making its debut exclusively on Wii, Samurai Warriors 3 takes total advantage of Nintendo's new Classic Controller PRO to deliver an unparalleled Tactical Action battlefield experience.

And later on, in the Features section:

Master the moves of samurai masters using the Classic Controller PRO.

Quite how one would "take total advantage" of a controller is something our lawyers won't let us comment on, but it certainly seems like the guys and gals at Koei are excited about Samurai Warriors 3 using this new controller. They're so excited about it, in fact, that the Japanese release is getting its very own Samurai Warriors-skinned controller, although we doubt this'll be available for the Western release. Still, even a regular black Classic Controller Pro would be more than welcome - it's now just a question of when, not if!